Terrorblade's Fractal Horns and the Prismatic Gem Issue (analyzed)

[The Laundromancer]

First off, new band name, I call it.

Second, I, like others, purchased the Arcana Set for Terrorblade. The issues have been floating around so I won't sum them up. Rather, I'd like to point out two things that should be considered to give perspective on the issue. I'm not reposting anything because I feel like others haven't found the nuance I have.

The biggest issue is the handling of the store description. It says (or said, since Valve did change it which is kind of admitting some fault) that it comes with a gem that changes the color of Terrorblade's set. Well, there's a problem. The gem doesn't change anything. It comes default. When it's default, saying that it "changes the color" does mean that the gem itself will change the color. This is only compounded when images of Terrorblade with other colors are present. It makes it look like it can at least change the color to those ones.

It's like releasing an item for Kunkka saying, "Comes with a gem that allows you to change the color of his coat!" Then it does come with a gem, called "Kunkka Blue". And it's Blue. It's already implied and understood it would appear as it appears. Kunkka is always this color anyway. Saying it's because of the gem is just being sneaky.

Also, it doesn't come with a GEM that changes the color. It comes with a SLOT that lets you change the color. A very big difference.

Further, the gem it comes with can't be extracted without destroying the set. The $35 set. You either have to have this gem in it always, or you have to destroy it. That's just unfair. You're making players decide whether or not to use the set for its intent (change colors) and then making sure they can't go back. It's not a car. It should be like the couriers from TI3. Even if I change to my favorite color ever, I cannot go back if I wanted. And any change costs money. A lot of money. In fact ...

The second issue is that the gem market recently incurred a gigantic spike in prices. I bought Unhallowed Ground from the market. I did so at $4.10. I also thought it would change the effect on Terrorblade. It doesn't. Just the color. My bad? I thought I'd have the gem's effect but no, I found out the "Kinetic Gem" doesn't change. Just the color.

Now, the prices are sky high. That same gem is literally twice as much, though you'll notice my gem there undercutting prices because I won't destroy my original gem. Gems that were $10 are now $20. This is all because gems get destroyed in the process. I'm level 149. I've never seen a gem dropped. I've never received a gem. They're extremely rare.

And now people who supported the game with $35 are screwed.

No one's saying that at $35, we should be privileged. We shouldn't. We shouldn't buy our way to success at all. Never. I'm not asking to be rewarded. Problem is, I wasn't asking to be screwed. Hard. I literally bought myself a Rock and a Hard Place by getting the set and the gem. This isn't fair.

My suggestion, in the end, is to make it like the TI3 courier, but with everything unlocked. This way the color can change, but no gem can be extracted for use outside the Arcana. Like Legion Commander's Arcana Gem. It's very specific to the set. This doesn't harm anyone or anything, nor the market, and it gives people supporting the game a way a good, third way.

[Face McShooty]

wow, that's terrible - I was under the impression that it would have different styles (since there was no clear description) like some other sets/items have, so you may chose which of the colors to use. I'm glad I haven't bought it

[The Laundromancer]

I bought it, having sold my Legion Commander Arcana set. Last night, someone who really, really wanted the Terrorblade set offered to trade back essentially. So I broke exactly even.

Still, this was a horrid way to introduce something. I won't be at the forefront of buying things in Dota anymore, especially since Lycan's Legendary form STILL isn't fixed from last Spring.

[👅 f r e a k y c y r u s 👅]

Simple, lets not play Dota until we get refunds or get it fixed :D

[The Laundromancer]

The Terrorblade set wasn't the final straw, but it just made everything click. I remember getting the $18 Lycan set when it came out (love Lycan then, still do). Aside from the fact that for the weekend it caused every game to crash when you used his ult, they never fixed the portrait. They've known it's an issue since they released it. They just can't be bothered to realign the portrait.

They won't fix this Terrorblade issue. And it is an issue.

Valve gets so much right, it's painful when they just up and miss like this. I'm really forgiving about a lot of stuff. This though, it's just biting the hand that feeds. People spend $35 on your product to find out they were mislead, and they're the ones screwed. Again, not saying paying money should give you a benefit. At all. Nothing beyond the set. But at $35, you can at least not screw people over so harshly.

[zZzooey.exe]

I had read Tearrorblade arcana item few days ago just once, and I automatically understood you need different prismatic gems which change colour. You seem to have some comprehention problem.

[The Laundromancer]

Originally posted by Rylai:

I had read Tearrorblade arcana item few days ago just once, and I automatically understood you need different prismatic gems which change colour. You seem to have some comprehention problem.

Coming from the person who doesn't realize they changed the description? They did so because of this issue.

Who has the comprehension problem now?

[Eibon]

This isn't actually an issue. Prismatic gems are not ethereal gems are not kinetic gems. Why would a Prismatic change his animations?

If you look on any patch notes breakdown, it explicitly states how it works. http://www.ongamers.com/articles/dota-2-6th-february-patch-content-analysis/1100-842/

The only thing I hope they change is that it deletes gems that get replaced. That's kind of annoying, but understandable, as the one they put in there was already ludicrously expensive because it was a legacy color; having it be a free gem for everyone would ♥♥♥♥ over the people selling it.

Also, not really misleading in that Prismatic gems change the color. They do. It comes equipped with a red one. As it was advertised. Everywhere.

[The Laundromancer]

I did a quick ctrl + f to see if I wrote the word "animation". I didn't. What I said was I thought it would change the effect. I'd have bought it anyway because I like the color (the only other one being the beige). I thought the effect would work as it did on couriers, but it merely changed the color.

Like I said. My bad. I put it there in case anyone else could relate but I did assert it was on me.

It also is very misleading to write that it comes with a gem that changes the color of Terrorblade. It asserted (the original description that's gone) that the gem changes color. Like I wrote (that you didn't read most likely) is that there's no color to change. The set comes red by default. Therefore nothing's changed. When you show the set, say that it has a gem that changes the color, that implies the gem itself changes the color. A truer description would be that it contains a slot to change the color - but even then, it's not the whole story.

Most players don't even get involved with gems. I can even see some players reading "prismatic" and thinking that this inherently relates to color chaning. Therefore, with a prismatic gem, you can change the color.

Simple stuff that seems to fly by Valve.

[The Laundromancer]

Also, sidenote: the word prismatic does refer to a spectrum of colors as can be experienced with a prism. (Dark Side of the Moon cover if you're still lost on that). Prismatic gems don't really exist. Just prisms, which pertain to refracted light. A "prismatic gem" as a thing, like here, implies that there are several colors contained within it depending on how you choose to look at it.

Hence, the option to change color as you will it.

[The Laundromancer]

I'd also like to point out that as of 1 minute ago, when you preview the Terrorblade Arcana set, the color is blue. Not red.

[Areth]

well i could start to point out the flaws in your argumentation but since you bought a 35$ digital item it probably would be pointless

[The Laundromancer]

Originally posted by Areth:

well i could start to point out the flaws in your argumentation but since you bought a 35$ digital item it probably would be pointless

You would start, but you can't. There are none. What you'd point out are differences of opinion. And even that would be pointless since you have no stake in this. And neither do I, really, since like I wrote, I don't have it anymore and was lucky enough to break even.

You flaw is assuming that by spending $35, I did something incorrect, bad, or unwanted. In reality, I sold Kunkka's Shadow Blade for $42. So I had money to spend on Steam. Beyond that, I'm supporting a game that's free to play. If no one used the Market or bought items, the game would tank.

That you wouldn't spend money doesn't mean anything beyond the fact that you wouldn't spend money.

[Areth]

Originally posted by pillbinge:

Originally posted by Areth:

well i could start to point out the flaws in your argumentation but since you bought a 35$ digital item it probably would be pointless

You would start, but you can't. There are none. What you'd point out are differences of opinion. And even that would be pointless since you have no stake in this. And neither do I, really, since like I wrote, I don't have it anymore and was lucky enough to break even.

You flaw is assuming that by spending $35, I did something incorrect, bad, or unwanted. In reality, I sold Kunkka's Shadow Blade for $42. So I had money to spend on Steam. Beyond that, I'm supporting a game that's free to play. If no one used the Market or bought items, the game would tank.

That you wouldn't spend money doesn't mean anything beyond the fact that you wouldn't spend money.

ok at first i thought you were stupid but you seem quite reasonable.
still the description was clear that you could change the collor with gems

[The Laundromancer]

ok at first i thought you were stupid but you seem quite reasonable.
still the description was clear that you could change the collor with gems

Sorry about the hostilities. Still, please understand that they changed the description. They did. Why would you change something that doesn't need to be changed? You'd see it all over Dota otherwise.

The wording is a little clearler, but the whole thing is still a bit misleading.

I hate identifying with what I do, but as a teacher/tutor, I might think that I can teach a subject amazingly. A certain idea or concept. But if some people have the same complaint each time, something is up. In the case here, nearly everyone is left with the same assumption at first and then walks away thinking the gem thing is a horrible idea.

Also, the guy below you basically sums it up in a way I could not. The gem is an unnecessary color because it should be part of the thing anyway. If they made it so that its that red by default, that's a little better.

[SmallPPPlayer]

I agree with making the color(red) default and not be a gem or at the very least interchangeable one.even if its a legacy color it doesnt matter, it would cost less or the same as the arcana itself. It feels like a scam and they somewhat found a loophole by wording the description differently.